Friday Links

Gates of Vienna is first with Thousands of New Gendarmes… Why?

The following video shows French President Emmanuel Macron announcing the formation of 200 new brigades of gendarmes, comprising 3,500 new officers.

Are these additional armed police being mustered to deal with violent culture-enrichers? Rioting anarchists? Or maybe ordinary citizens who are angry over the collapse of civil society in France? Or some combination of all three…?

Meep at Stump - Boomer 2022 Mortality: Much Improved, Still Elevated Over 2019

As I look at 2022, it will surprise nobody that the excess mortality was also mostly COVID, though it was not the primary cause of death (that’s still cancer and heart disease — top causes of death for all ages over age 45.)

Tam at View from the Proch - Ancient Gore

No Marvel comic has ever been as violent and action-packed as The Iliad, but an article in a highbrow magazine about translating the ancient Greek epic poem is the last place I expected to find a rollicking good read...yet here we are.

The Other McCain - A Self-Inflicted Disaster as Republicans Vote to Boot Kevin McCarthy as Speaker

Some conservatives may have loathed McCarthy as a compromised, unprincipled sellout, and I have no interest in debating anyone about McCarthy’s faults. The problem is that, having created this vacancy, the GOP insurgents offer no candidate capable of filling the void.

Granite Grok - America has a Free Speech Problem

Nearly one-third of Democratic voters (34%) say Americans have “too much freedom.” This compared to 14.6% of Republicans. Republicans were most likely to say Americans have too little freedom (46%), while only 22% of Democrats feel that way. Independents were in the middle in both categories.

Jazz Shaw at Hot Air - A typical night in Chicago

Pretty much every night after the sun goes down, people show up across the city and start committing crimes. These aren’t protests of any sort. Nobody is waving banners or yelling about how Black Lives Matter. They’re just criminals taking to the streets in large numbers.

Impro Guns - PM90. It is hard to be sure, but I think Impro Guns has a photo and a video of a homebuilt PM90. That is an AK-47 based pistol, but this version has a few AR-15 parts. The video isn't very informative, either, but then that is the world of YT gunsmithing.

Legal Insurrection - Groundbreaking Win For Parents: WI State Court Rules Against School’s Secret Gender Transitioning Policy

The court held the school could not “refer to students using a name or pronouns at odds with the student’s biological sex, while at school, without express parental consent.”

The school’s policy “violates parents’ constitutional right to determine the appropriate medical and healthcare for their children,” the court ruled.

Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony - Daily News Stuff 4 October 2023: Double Plus Pop Rotate Edition

Moronity Report: How good are the most advanced AI systems at predicting crime? Not. (The Markup)

At least the Plainfield PD scrapped the system after two years and only wasted about $35,000. As this kind of nonsense goes that's practically winning the lottery.

The Other McCain finishes up with a link that I should have included on Wednesday. House Passes Spending Bill After Democrat (Allegedly) Pulls Fire Alarm.

J6 protesters were sentenced to years in federal prison for “interrupting official proceedings,” and yet a Democrat thinks he can pull a fire alarm to stop a congressional vote. “Allegedly,” I hasten to add. Before the House overwhelmingly passed its bill, 335-91.